Daily Pulse: Drink This, Think Better

Drinking green tea may affect parts of the brain linked to working memory, according to a new study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition that used neuroimaging methods to test the effects of green tea on the brain. Researchers had volunteers drink a beverage with green tea extract and then perform a memory test. Compared to people who didn’t drink the beverage, those who drank the green tea showed an increased activation in the part of the brain in charge of working memory processing.

Sleep apnea in women has been linked to overactive bladder syndrome, according to a new study that looked at 72 female patients referred to a sleep disorder clinic. The women who were diagnosed with sleep apnea were much more likely to also have overactive bladder syndrome, which is characterized by an increased frequency to urinate along with incontinence. While this study links the two, more research is needed to see if one condition causes the other.

If you've been told you have dense breasts, then you've probably also heard that you're more likely to develop breast cancer. But a reassuring new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds that breast cancer patients with dense breast tissue aren’t more likely to die of their cancer than women who don’t have dense breasts. While breast cancer is often diagnosed later in women with dense breasts, the cancer is not more aggressive or life-threatening than tumors detected a little earlier in less dense tissue, finds the study.

As good-for-you as full-grown veggies are, a new study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry suggests microgreens—immature greens that are harvested anywhere from a week to two weeks after germination—may contain even more nutrients and vitamins than their more mature versions. Researchers found that maximum values of vitamin C, viamin K1, and vitamin E were found in red cabbage, garnet amaranth, and green daikon radish microgreens.

How quickly you down an alcoholic drink may depend on the shape of the glass you're holding, according to a new study from the UK. People were shown to take almost twice as long to finish a glass of beer when drinking alcohol from a straight-sided glass, compared to a curved glass, likely because it's more difficult to accurately judge the halfway point of curved glasses.

A new study from Visa finds a positive sign in the economy, at least for kids. The average gift from the Tooth Fairy rose to $3 per tooth, up 15% from last year. The credit card company also just came out with a new iPhone app for parents who want to keep up to date on the latest changes in loose tooth values.

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